RETICULATED PYTHON: CHARACTERISTICS, BEHAVIOR, SIZE, PREY, REPRODUCTION

RETICULATED PYTHONS — THE WORLD’S LONGEST SNAKES

reticulated python

The reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) of Southeast Asia is the longest snake in the world and the third heaviest after green anaconda of South America and the Burmese python. On average, reticulated pythons reach 6.25 meters (20.5 feet). One measuring 6.95 meters (22.8 feet) is the longest, reliably-measured wild reticulated python. Larger sizes have been reported, with some claims of ones over 10 meters (33 feet) in length, but these are considered controversial or unreliable. A captive reticulated python named "Medusa" was reported to measure 7.67 meters (25.2 feet) and weighed 158.8 kilograms (350 pounds).

Reticulated pythons are sometimes called retics for short and used be known by scientific name Python reticulatus. They mainly hunt birds and mammals. Female lays 30 to 50 eggs in hollow trees or underground burrows. They are considered very aggressive and do not make good pets. Although they are not poisonous, they usually bite their prey to immobilize it before wrapping themselves tightly around the prey to kill it. The snake is a good swimmer but it spends most of its time on land, seldom venturing too far from its den.

The longest snake ever recorded was a 10-meter (32-foot, 9-inch) python — longer than the height of a giraffe — killed on the island of Celebes (Sulawesi, Indonesia) in 1912. In 2008, a seven meter reticulated python named Fluffy, kept at the Columbus, Ohio zoo, was said to be the largest snake in captivity. The python was as thick as a telephone pole. In December 2003, villagers in Curygseweu on Java claimed they caught the world’s largest snake: a reticulated python measuring 14.85 meters (48.7 feet) in length and weighing 447 kilograms. The snake was displayed in a primitive zoo and was fed two or three dogs a month for food.

Reticulated pythons have lived up to 32 years in captivity. Their lifespan in the wild is typically 15 to 22 years. This could be because in captivity there is plentiful food while in wild food may sometimes be scarce and hunting may become increasingly difficult for these snakes when they get old.

Reticulated Python Habitat and Where They Are Found

Reticulated pythons is native to India, Southeast Asia, the Philippines and much of Indonesia. The have been observed on the Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. In Indonesia they reside on Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands, the Natuna Islands, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Maluku, Tanimbar Islands. In the Philippines they are found on Basilan, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Polillo, Samar and Tawi-Tawi.

reticulated python range

Reticulated pythons prefer tropical rainforests, wetlands, and grassland forests and have been at elevations up to 2500 meters (8200 feet). Females need a moist environment and temperature between roughly 24º C and 34º C to incubate their eggs. They like to have an area of water nearby for protection and to hunt. They use water as a place to hide when ambushing prey. Similar tactics are used wetlands and forest where they like to hide under brush to ambush prey. [Source: Cameron Brown, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Reticulated pythons live in both temperate and tropical areas and are sometimes found in suburban, urban and agricultural areas occupied by humans. In Puerto Rico, there is a population of reticulated pythons with a high rate of albinism, suggesting their originated from pets. Records of reticulated pythons there date back to as early as 2009, and the population was recognized as established by 2017. There may be some reticulated pythons in Florida but Burmese pythons are predominate introduced species there.

Reticulated Python Characteristics

Reticulated pythons range in weight from 50 to 158.8 kilograms (110 to 350 pounds) and range in length that ranges from 1.6 to 9.0 meters (5.25 to 29.53 feet), with their average length being 3.1 meters (10.17 feet). They are cold blooded (ectothermic, use heat from the environment and adapt their behavior to regulate body temperature). Their average basal metabolic rate is 2.7349 watts. [Source: Cameron Brown, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Reticulated pythons have small and smooth scales that, aid movement in water and dense vegetation. Their skin has yellow and tan spots with interlocking black markings. Their intricate skin patterns provide good camouflage in the shady, forested environments in which they live. Reticulated pythons are generally light yellowish to dark brown on the their back sides and lighter colored on thei bellies. They have black lines extending from the ventral area of the eyes diagonally down towards the snout. Another black line is sometimes present on the head of the snake extending from the end of the snout to the base of the skull or nape. Along the back of many reticulated python is a repeated pattern of black X's creating diamond-like patterns. Younger pythons sometimes have latitudinal lines with black-edged spots across their bodies. /=\

skull of a reticulated python

Reticulated pythons have a slender, elongated, muscular and powerful body. They have two lungs — sometimes viewed as a sign of their primitiveness as most modern snake species have a single, elongated lung adapted to their long, narrow body shape. They also have cloacal spurs — small, claw-like structures near the tail's base on either side of the cloaca that are considered to be vestigial remnants of the hind limbs their lizard-like ancestors possessed. [Source: Desiree Bowie, How Stuff Works, January 25, 2024 =]

Reticulated pythons have a triangular head distinct from their neck. Their jaws are highly flexible, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their head. The lower jaws are not rigidly attached, allowing them to expand around large prey. They have numerous sharp, backward-facing teeth designed to grip and hold onto prey, preventing it from escaping once bitten. Their long, tapered tail, aids grasping branches when climbing.

Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Females are larger than males. Large females average can grow up to 6.1 meters and 90 kilograms while large males are average about 4.5 meters long and up to 45 kilograms. On way to distinguish reticulated pythons from other species of pythons is to look at the upper jaw near the front of the snout. The suborbital portion of the maxilla (upper jaw) of the reticulated python lacks a lateral or protruding figure.

Reticulated Python Food and Eating Behavior

Reticulated pythons are primarily carnivores (eat meat or animal parts) and mostly eat terrestrial vertebrates. Animal foods include birds, mammals, reptiles. Reticulated pythons most commonly feed on mammals and bird species found within their geographic range. Documented prey include bats, treeshrews, rats, other rodents, mouse-eared bats, small Indian civets, binturong, primates, pigs, deer and even sun bears. Reticulated pythons is considered the snake most likely to consume humans based on the high number of reported attacks on people in the wild and attacks on pet owners who own them. pythons. [Source: Cameron Brown, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Reticulated pythons are primarily ambush hunters who like to hide in dense brush or near water. Usually they wait until prey wanders within striking range and seize it with their mouth, envelop it coils and kill it by constriction. Sometimes they grab prey and try to pull into the water.. These snakes hunt prey and locate trails used by prey by utilizing pit organs — specialized organs that detect radiant heat — and smell. They can detect the location of prey by the temperature relation of the prey to the surrounding area.

When prey approaches, reticulated pythons strike quickly, seizing it with their sharp, backward-facing teeth. This initial strike is critical to hold onto the prey, preventing it from escaping. Once secured, the python quickly coils around its prey. The heat-sensing pits along their jaws are especially useful for nocturnal hunting.[Source: Desiree Bowie, How Stuff Works, January 25, 2024]

Reticulated pythons are able to swallow prey up to one-quarter its own length and up to its own weight. Near human-inhabited areas they occasionally snatch chickens, cats, and dogs. Among the largest documented prey items are a half-starved sun bear that weighed 23 kilograms (50 pounds) that was eaten by a 6.95 meter (22 foot 10 inch) female which needed 10 weeks to fully digest it. There have been reports of foraging python entering forest huts and taking children. [Source: Wikipedia]

Reticulated Python Behavior and Movement

captive reticulated python eating a chicken

Reticulated pythons are arboreal (live mainly in trees),scansorial (able to or good at climbing), terricolous (live on the ground), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary) and sedentary (remain in the same area), Especially in presence of females, male pythons may fight with other males to show dominance, defend territory and attract a mate. [Source: Cameron Brown, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

The size of their range territory is 25 to 100 square meters, with their average territory size being 50 square meters. Some studies have shown the reticulated python to occupy areas of higher heat with a source of water nearby. Some pythons travel long distances to find an area favorable for reproductive success. The size and location of such places is related to of inhabited area is directly associated with the means of protection and survival of the nest they are incubating or look to incubate.

Reticulated pythons are good swimmers and have been spotted swimming in the sea far from shore. It is no surprise then that they live on so many islands. In general, they are known to occupy areas which tend to have a source of water nearby. It has been suggested that they can move easier in the water than on land because of their large size. When they move on land they do so using lateral progression, in which the snake contracts and releases muscles simultaneously to move along in a recognize able serpentine fashion. Because of their great size reticulated pythons so this while their body is relatively straight and they move forward in a straight line. Using the technique of constriction and unfolding a python can climb trees — a practice more common in smaller, younger individuals than bigger, older ones. Reticulated pythons use similar body movement to shed their skin in order to repair injuries or when they grow.

Reticulated Python Senses and Communication

Reticulated pythons sense using touch, vibrations and chemicals usually detected by smell. They communicate with vision, touch, vibrations and chemicals usually detected by smelling and scent marks (produced by special glands and placed so others can smell or taste them). [Source: Cameron Brown, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

head of a reticulated python juvenile

Like all snakes, reticulated pythons are virtually deaf to airborne noises and visually restricted due to immovable eyelids. They rely on their senses of smell and touch to locate prey and threats. Reticulated pythons do not have ears, instead they have ossicle organs called "columella" which allows them to sense vibrations in the ground. Most snakes use physical movements to create vibrations in order to communicate to one another. Vibrations are used in mating and communicate territorial claims.

Although reticulated pythons possess nasal cavities they “smell” with their the forked tongue and "vomeronasal organ" in the roof of the snake's mouth. Their eyes have vertical pupils, a feature typical of nocturnal predators that aids night vision. Jaw structure: They have heat-sensing pits on their upper and lower jaws, which are used to detect the body heat of prey, especially in low-light conditions. [Source: Desiree Bowie, How Stuff Works, January 25, 2024, /=]

Reticulated pythons also communicates with other snakes with pheromones (chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species). These pheromones are applied to the topsoil of forest floor and allow other snakes to interpret the gender, reproductive success, and age by smelling them.

Reticulated Python Mating, Reproduction and Offspring

Like most pythons, reticulated pythons are oviparous meaning it lays eggs to reproduce, and are polyandrous, with females mating with several males during one mating season. They can use delayed fertilization in which there is a period of time between copulation and actual use of sperm to fertilize eggs; due to sperm storage and/or delayed ovulation. They also may employ sperm-storing (producing young from sperm that has been stored, allowing it be used for fertilization at some time after mating) and capable of parthenogenesis (a natural form of asexual reproduction where an embryo develops from an unfertilized egg) but is uncommon and has been documented only with captive pythons. In parthenogenesis the female produces a fertilize egg within herself, creating offspring with identical DNA. This is an adaptation to reproduce even when males are not present.. [Source: Cameron Brown, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Reticulated python engage in seasonal breeding every one to three years, typically from February to March. During this time females emits pheromones to signal their readiness to mate. These pheromones can be detected from far distances. Males often travel considerable distances to locate a receptive female. When several males show up. they may fight for mating rights. [Source: Desiree Bowie, How Stuff Works, January 25, 2024]

Reticulated python males uses vibrations to signal their mating status to females, who choose whether to mate or not. If a female decides to mate, the male rub his body on top of the female and massages her with his spurs — vestigial hind limbs on his abdomen. When the female is ready she lifts her tail and mating takes place. During mating, males use their spurs to align their bodies for copulation. Following successful mating, the female enters a gestation period. Afterward, she lays a clutch of eggs, with the number varying significantly based on her size and health.

Reticulated Python Eggs and Offspring

Like most pythons, reticulated pythons are oviparous meaning it lays eggs to reproduce. The number of eggs ranges from eight to 107, with the average number of offspring being 25 to 50. The gestation period ranges from 60 to 90 days, with the average being 70 days. Young become independent almost immediately after birth. On average females reach sexual or reproductive maturity at four years and three meters in length and males do so at three to five years when they are 2.5 meters in length.

The viability of the eggs depends on the mother's ability to protect and incubate them, as well as high levels of humidity. Reticulated pythons reproduces more frequently in areas of higher temperature for incubation. Towards the end of winter when temperatures start warming, pythons begin preparing for breeding with the aim of getting the timing right so eggs hatch in the summer. The breeding area needs to be rich in prey in order for the female to produce offspring. Consequently, reticulated pythons require a relatively undisturbed area to maintain high reproductive output. If food is abundant the reticulated python female can have up to a clutch a year. In areas and seasons when food is not so plentiful, the clutch size and frequency is said to be one clutch every two to three years.

During the incubation period reticulated python females coil around the eggs and employ a process of muscle contractions called "shivering thermogenesis" to keep the warm. Around the time the eggs hatch the female leaves. Newly hatched reticulated pythons young use their an egg tooth on their upper-lip to crack open the eggshell. The hatchlings are roughly 60 centimeters in length and weigh around 140 grams. Immediately after hatching, the young pythons shed their skin and begin hiding and waiting for prey to feed on.

Reticulated Pythons, Humans and Conservation

Reticulated pythons are not considered endangered in part because they have such a huge range, On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List they are listed as as a species of Least Concer. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they are in Appendix II,which lists species not necessarily threatened with extinction now but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. /=\

The main threats to reticulated pythons are habitat loss due to deforestation, development and the expansion of agriculture and hunting for their skins, meat, body parts and animals for the pet trade. Reticulated pythons are able to ingest large prey and present a threat to human livestock and humans themselves.

In the Philippines, the Agta tribe eat reticulated python for food but have also been prey for the snakes. Between 1934 and 1974, six fatal attacks on humans by reticulated pythons were reported. Amongst the Agta populations, 26 percent of adult males have reportedly survived predation attempts by reticulated pythons. In general, human fatalities are rare but occur. In 1982 a 21-month-old child was found dead in his crib after a pet reticulated python escaped from the place it was kept and bit the child.

Burmese Python Eats Bigger Reticulated Python

In 2020, a Burmese python was observed attacking and swallowing a reticulated python — regarded as the longest snake in the world. Researchers in India took pictures of the event beginning with the moment the Burmese python began feasting on the reticulated python from the tail up, while it was still alive. It took about two hours for the snake to be completely consumed, scientists reported in a research note published August 20, 2024 in the journal Reptiles and Amphibians. "It was a really unusual situation to find two pythons in the same area," study co-author Ashikur Rahman Shome, a wildlife ecologist at Dhaka University in Bangladesh, told Live Science. [Source:James Bonthron, Live Science, August 31, 2024]

James Bonthron wrote in Live Science: When the scientists arrived, the 10-foot-long (3 meters) Burmese python was coiled around the slightly larger reticulated python's tail. The latter tried to fight back by constricting the Burmese python, but it eventually loosened its grip and was swallowed from the tail end up. The reticulated python was larger than the Burmese, but the exact length was not taken, Shome said.

The event took place on the Akiz Wildlife Farm in Bangladesh's Chittagong Division. This area is one of the few places where the ranges of Burmese and reticulated pythons overlap. The two snake species prey on similar animals, such as mammals, birds and lizards. It's not completely clear why the reticulated python was eaten, but given the better food options at the site, it might just have been a territorial dispute that ended up with one eating the other as an easy way to end the fight: "There are a number of chickens at the site. They make a better meal," Shome said. "To the best of our knowledge, this observation represents the first documented predation of M. reticulatus by P. bivittatus," the team wrote in the paper.

Burmese python swallowing a reticulated python, picture by Adnan Azad

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated February 2025